Olive Garden

Today was a day of celebration. New Directions had come in first at Regionals with kick-ass original songs- and Finn thought that winning with original songs was even better than just winning, because they won with stuff they had written themselves, and song writing wasn't easy. Regionals was where their journey had ended last year, and this time they had conquered it and they were going to Nationals. In New York City. Kind of a big deal, since it was what they'd been working towards since, oh, the moment they started this thing last year. Plus, Rachel was out of the hospital and back on her feet, which in itself was huge. Of course Finn knew she had it in her, but it was a major relief for him that she was feeling better. He hated watching her suffer, and he was positive that he had never been more scared in his life than he was in that hospital. But Rachel was back to normal, just how she was before the accident and neither of them could have been more thrilled. So yeah, it seemed like a good excuse to go out and celebrate. Finn messed with his hair one last time in the mirror before heading downstairs to wait for Rachel on the couch. He was wearing a nice pair of pants and a red t-shirt along with a black blazer. He'd seen a bunch of people on TV and in magazines dressed like that and he thought it looked cool, so he was trying it out. Plus, it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than those ties. He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV to an old football game to occupy himself until Rachel was ready.

After about a week of being admitted to the hospital, Rachel had gotten tired of being so cooped up that she had finally cracked and threw a diva fit. It took much cajoling, but the doctors had finally released her, if not to just get her out of their hair. However, she was forced to promise to notify them if there were any complications. She agreed, albeit grudgingly. She was still in a cast and she had to keep the bandages around her ribs and use the spirometer Kurt had bought to restore her lung strength. Although reluctant at first to use the thing, Rachel had found that not only did it rebuild her lung strength, but had also improved it so it was better than before. She was able to walk, though she had to keep a boot on her foot to support her ankle. By the time Regionals rolled around, Rachel was almost back to 100% and did the competition with no boot on, and was able to keep it that way after. And so all of the medical stuff, combined with their win at Regionals led to date night with Finn. Sliding on a short red dress, Rachel twirled in front of the mirror and smiled at her reflection. She did her hair and makeup, then made sure her 'Finn' necklace and wedding ring were all in place before putting on the gold star earrings Finn had gotten her for Christmas. After slipping on a pair of black flats, Rachel descended the staircase and stopped in the doorway to the living room where Finn was waiting for her. "I'm ready," she said shyly to get his attention.

Yes! Finn held up a fist as one of the teams scored. Now that was how a pass should be thrown! God he loved this game. He was snapped out of his football haze when he heard Rachel speak, his eyes immediately going to her. He felt his mouth drop open. He probably looked like a complete idiot but holy hell, his girl was fucking hot. She was wearing a tiny little red dress and the necklace with his name on it (which he loved, despite how Kurt always said it was objecting to women or whatever. He liked seeing his name on her. It was just like the wedding rings, it told every other guy out there to fuck off, she was taken so don't even try or else there would be serious hell to pay) and her hair was down and wavy and pretty just like always but slightly different, because it was a special occasion. "You look... wow." he uttered stupidly, turning off the TV and moving to join her at the foot of the stairs. "Rach, you're like... perfect. So beautiful." Shit, he was a lucky bastard.

[Did you like my sports talk at the beginning? I know, it was so accurate it felt like you were RIGHT THERE ON THE FIELD or whatever. What can I say, sports are my passion. xD]

[Your sports talk is amazing, m'dear. You should be a sports announcer. XD]

Rachel let out a small giggle as she watched Finn's jaw drop, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. It was very rare that she garnered that reaction from anyone, so it was flattering when she did, even more so when it came from Finn. She smiled as he came to stand next to her. "Thank you," she replied. "You look very handsome yourself." Rachel reached up to smooth out his collar, but after a thought she grabbed it and dragged him down to her level so she could press her lips firmly against his. They hadn't really kissed for a while, what with Regionals and all of her injuries and whatnot. So it felt absolutely wonderful to be up against him, their lips moving together flawlessly. After a couple minutes Rachel surfaced for air and actually smoothed out Finn's collar for real before smiling up at him and asking, "So where are we headed tonight?"

Finn's arms immediately went around her waist as she kissed him. He should totally pay her more compliments like that. Like, all the time. His mind went blank for a while as they kissed. Rachel was the best kisser in the entire world, he decided. Because there was totally no way that anyone could be a better kisser than her. Once they'd pulled apart and regained their breath he helped her put on her jacket and handed her the purse she'd set out before leading her to the car. "I was thinking Olive Garden. Their salad is actually really awesome and I know how much you love salad." he told her. "But we can go somewhere else if you want. Doesn't really matter to me."

Rachel grinned as she slid on her jacket and was handed her purse. "Thank you Finn, that was very chivalrous of you," she told him. She linked arms with Finn as they made their way out to his truck, stepping carefully to avoid putting any unnecessary weight on her injured foot. Hopping into the cab, Rachel settled into the seat and clicked her seatbelt. She beamed at the idea of Olive Garden. Everyone almost always went to Breadstix. This would be a nice change. "Olive Garden is wonderful!" she assured Finn.

Finn started up the truck and laughed a little. "I actually know what that means now. Like, a gentleman and stuff." he said proudly. "I've totally been using that dictionary you got me." He backed out of the driveway and started to drive into town. "Yeah, I figured Breadstix was kind of boring and we go there all the time. But it's a special occasion and stuff so at least Olive Garden was different. And they have that all you can eat salad and breadsticks. You know, I actually think their breadsticks might be better than the actual Breadstix, as wrong as that might be."

[So sorry for how late this is! I've only been able to hop on for a couple minutes at a time this past week, which sucked, but here we go!]

Rachel beamed. "That's great! An extensive vocabulary is always a useful thing.” She smiled and nodded at his reasoning for skipping on Breadstix. “I don’t mind the change,” she said sincerely. “Plus the management at Olive Garden doesn’t hate us,” she added, thinking of all the drama they had been involved in at Breadstix. It was a wonder they weren’t banned from the establishment. Rachel laughed lightly at the comment about the breadsticks. They did sort of suck at the restaurant, which was admittedly very odd considering the name of the place. Though they couldn’t be too awful, considering Santana ate them by the barrowful—literally. Rachel reached over and turned up the volume on the radio and hummed along with it. "I'm very excited for tonight. It feels like we haven't had a night to ourselves in forever, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely. We've been so busy lately I feel like the only time I really get to spend with you alone is when we're asleep." Finn complained. "And as much as I love sleeping with you in my arms, that's just not enough babe." he pulled into the Olive Garden parking lot and opened the car door for her, leading her inside the building and giving his name to the hostess, who brought them to a small table off to the side. They were informed that their waitress would be with them shortly and given two menus to look at before she wandered off. "So, prom is coming up." he said finally. "And I know it's kind of assumed that we'd go together already but, I wanted to make sure." he reached across the table to grab her hand and smiled. "So Rachel Hudson, will you go to prom with me?"

"Pretty soon we'll be able to do a whole other kind of sleeping, don't you worry," Rachel assured with a coy wink. She let him lead her to the restaurant and were soon seated at the table. Glancing at the menu, Rachel looked up as Finn started on prom. Honestly, it hadn't crossed her mind as of late. She knew that was strange for a girl, but Rachel Hudson had never claimed to be normal. It wasn't like she wasn't excited, there were just other things that took priority. Dealing with the aftermath of her marriage, the accident, and Regionals were really the only things she had been concerned with as of late. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard her name. It still caused her emotions to get the best of her whenever she heard it: she didn't think that would ever change. She chuckled when Finn actually asked her to prom. "Although that was entirely unnecessary, it is appreciated. Yes Finn, of course I will go to prom with you. It would be my pleasure," Rachel answered beaming.

Finn grinned as she agreed to go to prom with him. Maybe it was stupid or not needed, but just because they were married didn't mean she didn't still deserved to be asked. "Cool. We can eat with everybody before the dance and someone will probably have an after party too. It'll be awesome. You'll have to help me pick out a suit and stuff though, because I have no clue about any of that stuff." he told her. He knew the guy was supposed to match with the girl, but that was about as far as his knowledge went. Oh, and he had to get her one of those flower things. His mom could probably help him with that part, or Kurt. When the waitress arrived she smiled brightly at them both. "Welcome to Olive Garden! My name is Paisley and I'll be your waitress. Can I start you two off with something to drink?" After Rachel had ordered Finn asked for a glass of coke. "Okay, I'll go and grab your drinks and some salad and breadsticks while you decide on your meal." she announced before walking off. Finn frowned. "It sucks that we're still underage, or else we could have ordered wine like real adults."

Rachel beamed and nodded eagerly. At the beginning of high school, Rachel never would have even considered going to prom, but she was, and she was going with her husband and friends. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world. "I don't think you'll have an issue with the tux," she commented. "Kurt will probably insist on dressing us." He would jump at any chance he had to get them to dress in ways he approved of. When Paisley the waitress wandered over, Rachel ordered a water with a lemon slice and went back to looking at the menu once the waitress left. "Well, we're not sneaking some when we get back to your house. That would be an extremely irresponsible thing to do."

"Alright, but I'm not wearing anything crazy." Finn agreed when she mentioned his brother. It would probably be easier that way anyway, because if anyone else tried to help Kurt would still butt in and do it is way. As long as he didn't look too weird (he hated suits enough as it was) then he was down with letting Kurt help. He vaugely wondered if it was possible to figure out a way for them to get a hotel room on prom night. Maybe if they said Puck and Tina were having sleepovers after the after parties nobody would get suspicious. Of course then Kurt would have to be out of the house too, but he and Blaine could probably find something to do.... He'd have to keep that in mind as a possibility. He glanced at his menu and nodded. "Oh yeah, I know. Everyone would kill us if we snuck booze in." A thought occured to him suddenly, making him smile. "Y'know Rach, it isn't just my house. It's your house now too."

"I can't guarantee he won't try," Rachel quipped, and it was true. Given the opportunity, Kurt would try and dress them in what they would see as utterly ridiculous, and what he would call high end fashion. Blushing, Rachel bit her lip and ducked her head to gaze intently at her menu. She had hoped he wouldn't catch it when she had said 'your' instead of 'our', but she should have known better. Sighing, Rachel took one of the breadsticks and started breaking it apart. "Our parents still aren't very pleased with this, are they?" she asked. "I just don't want to get comfortable saying and thinking something and then have it taken from me," she said softly.

Finn frowned when she began to look upset. Hearing her sound so sad about things really tore him up inside. He didn't want her to be anything but happy all the time. "They're still getting used to it." he said, in regards to their parents. "I mean, we are only in high school. It's not normal. So obviously it's gonna take people a while to wrap their heads around it." he shrugged, trying to explain what was going through his head. "But I married you because I love you, and because I want to be with you forever. I'm just lucky enough that I found you this early on in my life, you know? Most people aren't as lucky and take a long time to find the person they're meant for, or even if they do it takes them forever to realize it. But we're the exception so people are bound to be a little thrown off." he grabbed her hands and looked at her seriously. "Rach, my home is your home now. Because my home is wherever you are. And I know things are tense now but it's gonna be okay. And if stuff goes south and somebody has a problem with it then they'll just have to deal because nothing is gonna change the fact that me and you? We're in this together for life. The end. There's not even a 'to be continued' because this is it." He scrunched up his face a little. "Does that make any sense or am I just rambling?"

Rachel listened to Finn very carefully, though she still wasn't looking at him and continued to snap the breadstick between her fingers. The corner of her mouth lifted in a tiny smile when he said the word 'exception.' It reminded her of the time she sang The Only Exception to him in Glee, and she marveled at just how far they had come since then. When Finn grabbed her hands, she looked up at him and held his gaze until he finished speaking. "When did you learn to be so good with words?" she asked in a playful tone, though she was entirely serious. He had always claimed to be bad with words, but somehow he always knew the exact thing to say that would make her feel instantly better. It was better than a glass of water any day.

Finn laughed. "I have this really amazing wife that I've been learning from." he said, his tone playful but meaning every single word. "She's really smart so I have to keep up."

Paisley the waitress returned then, setting their drinks down along with another basket of breadsticks and a large bowl of salad. "Ready to order?" she asked cheerfully. After Rachel had ordered her dinner Finn asked for the classic spaghetti and meatballs. "Okay, it should be out shortly. Let me know if you need anything." the waitress nodded and walked off.

Finn took one of the two small plates and served Rachel a smaller sized portion of the salad before passing it to her and helping himself to a larger size. "Their salad is actually really good here." he said convorsationally. Normally he wasn't the biggest fan of salad unless it was covered with dressing, but Olive Garden had some sort of dressing mixed in and it was really good.

"Really amazing, huh?" Rachel giggled. "Well I guess she must be if she got a wonderful husband such as yourself," she continued, enjoying the playful banter. Paisley came back and asked if they were ready to order. Rachel got the capellini pomodoro and waited for Finn to order before taking any salad herself. Before she could serve herself, Finn was already piling some onto her plate, and she threw a smile in his direction. In response to his statement, she said, "Yes, it is. My dads and I pretty much live on takeout, but we've been here a couple times."

"Take out awesome." Finn agreed. "But I like home cooking too. My mom's fried chicken is like one of the best things ever. Plus your banana bread and sugar cookies, and Burt makes awesome ribs..." he shook his head as he snapped out of it. "Sorry. Anyway, tell me what's been going on with you. I feel like we hardly get time to talk anymore. How's life for you Rachel Hudson?"

Rachel shrugged. "I have been catching up on all the work I have missed when I was in the hospital, naturally. It was quite a bit to manage, but it was all finished eventually. And I've been getting New Directions prepared for Regionals, of course." Rachel smiled. Regionals had gone wonderfully. They had won. They had won, they were going to Nationals in New York, and they had done it without Mr. Schue. Of course, that last one was more like a personal win, proving that she could be a capable leader, but she was glad to have him back at any rate. "And walking too," she added. Since she had refused to be on crutches or in a wheelchair, she had to almost learn to walk again, and it hadn't been an easy task. "It was a challenge, but one I relished. How about you?"

"How's your foot now?" He hoped it was better. She'd been doing freaking amazing on it, but Rachel was never one to show or admit to any sort of weakness, so he wanted to make sure she was being honest. "Me? Oh, mostly the same stuff. I've been working on school a lot too. Y'know, trying to get my grades up and stuff. Now that we're married I have to get my ass in gear because who knows what amazing schools you'll get in to? I gotta be able to get in somewhere decent so we can be together and so I can provide for us and stuff. Oh, and I've been working out with the guys a lot." he added. "It's weird that Artie can totally kick all of our asses when we do laps but he kind of has an advantage, so I'm not sure if it really counts but whatever."

"Oh, it's doing better," Rachel said. It was true enough. It was better, though it still pained her sometimes, but one mention of even the slightest pain would set Finn off worrying, and neither of them needed that. She took a small bite of her salad and looked up slightly startled when he brought up New York. She had, of course, assumed he'd go no matter what, but they had never actually discussed it. Hearing that, along with the fact that he said he wanted to provide for them, made her heart swell. Sure, she was a strong-willed feminist who could certainly take care of herself, but something about it was just so sweet. She really wished they weren't in public right then because more than anything she really just wanted to kiss him soundly, but she settled for smiling and saying, "You'll get into a great college. I know you can." Rachel laughed at the comment about Artie. It did seem a little backwards, but it made sense at the same time. "I suppose he would have the advantage, what with the wheels covering more ground in more time," she commented thoughtfully.

Finn smiled. "See that's one of the things that really makes you different Rach. You've never doubted me for a second. That means everything to me. Knowing I have you backing me up no matter what makes me feel like I can do anything." He felt like Superman or something when she was around. Like, if Rachel really and truly believed in him, then maybe it was possible after all. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Artie's arms are like twice as strong as most of our legs." he said, thinking about their friend. It was weird though, because Artie's arms were like totally small compared to his legs, but whatever.

Paisley the waitress returned soon after that carrying a tray with two steaming plates. She set Rachel's meal in front of her and then set down Finn's plate. "If you need anything, just let me know. Enjoy." she said simply before walking off again.

Finn smiled, happy for his food to have arrived. He was starving, but he tried to still use his best manners as he dug into his food.

Rachel frowned slightly. Her believing in him shouldn't be that big of a deal. She never understood why people didn't believe in him more. He had so much talent and potential to tap into, and she knew he could do whatever he wanted if he put his mind to it. The smile returning to her face, Rachel assured, "Of course I believe in you Finn. I know you can do anything you want, so long as you work for it." She giggled again about Artie. Remembering back to the beginning of sophomore year when Mr. Schue had made them all ride in wheelchairs for a couple weeks, she knew that it had taken serious upper-arm strength and that Artie must've been a pro after eight years of riding in one. Paisley came back with the food and Rachel gratefully started on her dish after placing her napkin neatly on her lap.

As Rachel continued to talk, Finn couldn't help but beam with pride. She was such an inspiration and so, so awesome and she was his. This amazing little spitfire believed in him and chose him and loved him. Talk about a lucky bastard. "You're seriously like the most amazing person on Earth." he told her. "Like, I mean it. I can't think of a single person on the planet who even comes close to how awesome you are." He took another bite of his spaghetti, the plate nearly half empty at this point, and shook his head. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Rachel, I just want to make sure that you know that."